Before I started pulling things apart I wanted to see if anybody has had these problems in the past.... maybe they could start me off in the right direction.

Just got a 79 up and running that had been sitting for a while. It has a 87 5.0 in it with the serpentine setup on it. It is running the stock 79 alt, with the volt regulator and its charging.

Reason I say this is because when I turn the headlights on the pulse or almost strobe, but they never go out. Its kinda like the have a bright flash at a regular interval when running. Never left it parked to see if it does it when the motor is off and the headlights are on.

When the headlights are on, the side markers and high fives are off, but the flash dimly when the headlights have their bright flash.

The tail lights do not come on when the headlights are on, but brake, turn signals, and reverse lights work. I know it is probably the bulbs... but wanted to pass along the info to see if it helps trouble shooting.

Also the dash does not illuminate when the lights are on no matter how you scroll the headlight switch around.

Last question: Does anybody make a good repo OEM style fan shroud..... mine completely crumbles apart when I swapped the bad motor out, and now the cooling system doesnt seem to work so well.....

 

The flashing headlights means that your electrical system's voltage isn't constant, which means the regulator cannot hold it steady. Make sure that the voltage regulator is grounded to clean, unpainted sheetmetal - and that the sheetmetal itself is grounded. The stock voltage regulator would have bolted to the fenderwell, which bolts to the firewall, which itself is grounded to the engine block through a ground strap. Missing ground straps are a very common oversight after an engine swap. You can also monitor your battery's voltage across the terminals with a meter while the motor is running.

Do you mean that the tail lights will not come on with the headlights on, but they come on once the headlights are off?

The dead dash lights could be a blown fuse, or the wiper in the dimmer switch losing contact with the rheostat (very common). The dash illumination circuit wiring is BLUE with RED stripe; check for power there.

Bottom line; electrical work requires a multimeter.

 

The rear blinkers and and brake lights work, but not the tail light function.... also the marker lights are all off, but blink when the headlights do their little flash......

I have a multimeter and test light... just wanted a jump start on diagnosing this stuff...

I will check the grounds first.....